“The Tory-led Government doesn’t just have a problem with Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems on child care ratios, but with their own side as well. During the committee stage of the Children and Families Bill on which I sat, Andrea Leadsoms MP, a great supporter of early attachment, voiced her opposition to ratio changes for under twos in particular.

These half baked Government proposals on ratios need to change and I hope  that Minister Truss will listen to colleagues across the House, childcare organisations, experts, providers and parents and ditch these plans.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

You can read the exchanges in the Children and Families Bill on Childcare ratios here including the comments from Andrea Leadsom MP below.

Andrea Leadsom MP: The hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Sharon Hodgson MP) and I share a passion for the critical under-two period, and I am arguing strongly with my hon. Friend the Minister that we should not change the ratios for under-twos. As the hon. Lady says, a person has only one pair of eyes, one mouth and two arms. Babies under two need to be hugged, handled, loved, kissed, told they are beautiful and things like that. That cannot be done if there are lots and lots of them. So I share the hon. Lady’s concern.

Andrea Leadsom MP: I certainly do sit with her (Sharon Hodgson MP) on the issue of the ratios for the under-twos. As far as I am concerned, that is a drop-dead point. People have only one pair of arms, and babies need a lot of hugging—a point that we will come on to when we consider an amendment that she and I have co-signed.

The Government has embarked on a series of reforms which are creating unease in the childcare sector and parents face a triple whammy of rising prices, plummeting places and cuts to financial support to help pay for childcare.

Lucy Powell MP said: “Childcare is a big issue for parents and for providers. Government changes mean that it is tougher for families to pay for childcare and proposals to reduce adult to child ratios in nurseries and childminders raise concerns about quality, cost and safety. That’s why I want to hear the views of parents and providers in Manchester Central. I hope you’ll take five minutes to complete my survey and inform my childcare campaign.”

Please complete the survey below and let Lucy know your views on childcare.

Survey for parents

Survey for childcare providers

Lucy said: “I’m delighted to become a supporter of the Kaleidoscope Trust in Parliament. Labour has led the way on tackling homophobia and improving life for LGBT people at home and abroad. The Kaleidoscope Trust is doing vital work pushing Commonwealth and other countries to decriminalise homosexuality and fight prejudice, promoting LGBT rights internationally.”